Italia

Javier Alvarado, Nina Coveney, Tia Hicks, Robert Sipchen and Caroline Stern

CRP 4160: Rome Workshop

Cornell in Rome Spring 2010

  2  

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Methodology for Collecting Data

3. Streets and Infrastructure

4. Greenery and Public Space

5. Building Typologies a. Typical Architectural Styles

6. Lynchian Mapping: Collective Impressions of

Italia

7. Business and Economy a. Small Businesses b. The Mercato Italia as a Commercial Hub c. The Time Bank as a Civic Enabler

8. Demographic Data: Who lives in Italia?

9. Interview Themes

10. Conclusions and Questions for Future

Research

  3  

1. Introduction

This project aims to create a profile of the Italia neighborhood in Rome through a detailed description of its infrastructure, building typologies, businesses and economy, and demographics. Employing a methodology of street surveys, resident interviews and statistical census analysis to research the neighborhood, the group visited Italia several times in order to discover specific issues and to gain insight into a contemporary Roman neighborhood. It is the group’s goal that this profile will illuminate present-day issues in Italia such as its population, spaces and activities. Giving attention to this particular neighborhood’s politics and economy can reveal issues pertinent to the city of Rome as a whole. Italia is located to the northwest of Rome's Historic Center between Stazione Termini and Stazione Tiburtina. It is a dynamic neighborhood with various local amenities including a market (Mercato Italia), a theater (Teatro Italia) and a park (Villa Torlonia). The neighborhood is comprised primarily of mixed-use buildings with abundant store fronts on the street level. There is an interesting relationship between public and private streets, a lack of public green space and a strong central market that serves as both a commercial and social hub. Italia has a rich variety of architectural styles, including significant examples of Fascist-era architecture. The expansive campus of La Sapienza University of Rome, situated just to the southwest of the neighborhood, is the source of a growing student presence on the streets and in the

local housing market. In recent years there has also been an increase of immigrants to the area, reflected in the growing numbers of foreign street vendors, immigrant-run shops with low prices, internet cafes specifically marketed at a globally connected customer base and the time bank in Mercato Italia sponsored by SOS Razzismo. While most immigrants do not live in the neighborhood because of its high property values and are primarily in Italia to work (either formally as a nanny or housekeeper, or informally as a street vendor), they affect its politics, economy and use of space. The introduction of these new populations are all the more apparent when juxtaposed with the older Italia businesses and residents, some of whom have lived in this neighborhood all their lives.

  4  

Furthermore, there appears to be a shift from small family-owned businesses that specialize in high quality goods toward more corporate chain stores, including super markets and inexpensive clothing stores. This transition is due to recent liberalization policies that aim to create competition in

the Italian retail industry. Increased competition, coupled with changes in consumer taste and a global financial crisis, has a visible effect on the entire neighborhood, including Mercato Italia. These are the concerns that this paper seeks to address.

Italia in the greater context of Rome.

  5  

2. Methodology for Collecting Data

The majority of the group’s data was collected over a series of fieldwork visits to the Italia neighborhood between February 11, 2010 and March 15, 2010. The group's visits were mostly made during morning hours, from about 10:00 am to 1 pm. The first step in the data collection process was to complete street-by-street surveys through visual observation. The group split into two subgroups, one taking responsibility for all the streets bounded by Via Catania, Viale delle Provincie, Via Reggio-Calabria and Via Catanzaro (the northern subgroup), while the other subgroup covered the streets bounded by Via Catania, Via Udine, Via Lucca and Viale Ippocrate (the southern subgroup). Every street in the neighborhood was partitioned into sections that were bounded by cross streets, with each section given enough time to be closely examined. One half of each subgroup completed a written street-by-street survey, taking note of the flow and demographic makeup of pedestrian traffic, the general ambiance (noise levels and appearance of buildings and sidewalks), sidewalk and street maintenance, and practical and aesthetic infrastructure (planted trees, parking spaces and waste receptacles). The written survey can be found in Appendix 2, while its complete findings are contained in Appendix 3. The other half of the subgroup was responsible for visual documentation of each street, which included taking photographs of significant street elements, diagramming each street in plan with schematic sketches, noting the right-of-

way in approximate measurements, the number of stories and type of each building, and the businesses found in each building. This data, when compiled, generated the group’s original maps. For examples of the group’s schematic street diagrams, refer to Appendix 1. Another crucial step in the data collection process was interviewing people in the neighborhood with a PhD student translator in order to add a personal element to the empirically based picture of the neighborhood that the group initially created. These interviews gave the group a context from which to better understand Italia and revealed key issues of the neighborhood. An explanation of interviews can be found in the section “Interview Themes” and notes from every individual interview can be found in Appendix 4. The group employed Lynchian mapping theory to create a cognitive map of the neighborhood. Lynch maps come from the spatial analysis theories of Professor Kevin A. Lynch and are meant to be a simple way of understanding how people perceive and navigate urban landscapes. Lynch reported in his famous work, The Image of the City, that people understand and perceive their surroundings in consistent and predictable ways, forming mental maps with five key elements:

Paths: the streets, sidewalks, trails and other channels in which people travel

Edges: perceived boundaries such as walls, buildings and shorelines

Districts: relatively large sections of the city distinguished by some identity or character

  6  

Nodes: focal points, intersections or loci Landmarks: readily identifiable objects that serve as

external reference points

Using this method helped the group create cognitive maps that emphasized how people use spaces in Italia. However,

Reference Street Map of Italia. Black font denotes public streets and red font denotes private streets. Credit: Javier Alvarado  

  7  

Lynch maps are not familiar to everyday Italian citizens and so it proved to be an improbable task to ask strangers on the streets to draw maps. This technique also limits the perception of urban spaces to just the physical experience without taking into account other social factors that cannot be quantified spatially, such as age, race, gender and political orientation. In order to make use of statistics and demographic data, the group researched ISTAT data on the Cornell in Rome server and was able to analyze data analytically as well as spatially by using Geographic Informational Systems mappings. Business and market data is recorded because the group wanted to better understand the services available to residents in Italia and see what types of stores the area supports.

  8  

3. Streets and Infrastructure A visual summary of the group’s initial findings in the Italia neighborhood regarding its infrastructure is shown on page 10. Created in ArcGIS, this map depicts motorized traffic intensity along the streets, building footprints and bus stops in Italia. Traffic intensity is visually depicted by using thicker line weights to represent streets with higher amounts of traffic. The thickness of the line weights used for each street do not correspond with the physical width of the streets in relation to each other. However, the streets with the highest traffic intensity and line weight - Via Catania, Viale delle Provincie and Viale Ippocrate – are the widest streets in Italia while some of the private streets are only wide enough for one car to pass. Private streets, prominent in the Italia neighborhood, are marked in red and the building footprints were based off of CAD data files from the Cornell in Rome server. The data and observations used for this map were gathered over a period of four visits between February 18, 2010 and February 26, 2010. The group recorded the intensity of traffic as light, medium or heavy; whether a street is private or public; and where bus stops are located. In the actual creation of the map, the group used Google maps to confirm street configurations and CAD files to confirm building footprints, quantified the street-by-street survey data to develop categories and inserted this data into ArcGIS. The data from these street surveys can be viewed in Appendix 3. A combination of graphic elements on the map transforms our survey data into a visually informative and accessible format. Light, medium and heavy traffic intensities are denoted on the map by the use of different line weights. The thickest line corresponds to the heaviest traffic, according to

a logical progression of gradually decreasing thickness denoting decreasing traffic intensity. In this way, the major arterial streets of the neighborhood become apparent. Via Catania is the major vehicular route that converges with two secondary routes, Viale delle Provincie and Via Catanzaro, at the roundabout in Piazzale delle Provincie. This heavy concentration of traffic from three large roads has a negative impact on the public space in the center of the roundabout, discussed later in the analysis. Traffic intensity along Via Catania is much higher than a private street, such as Via Siena, because it serves as an avenue to reach Piazzale delle Provincie, which many cars, buses and motorcycles use to reach important streets that connect to the surrounding areas. The near constant flow of motor vehicles makes it much noisier than a street mainly used for parking.

Private streets, indicated in red, usually have no traffic at all since they are blocked off from traffic by gates and have

Credit: Nina Coveney

  9  

private parking spaces, designated by white painted lines. It appears that the main motivation for street privatization in this neighborhood is the creation of private parking spaces for residents of adjacent condominiums, since they do not offer any other advantages one might expect from a private street, such as pleasant green space or high-level maintenance. On all the private streets north of Via Catania, the sidewalk and street surfaces were in worse condition than the surrounding public streets, suggesting two things: first, the condominium owners are responsible for maintenance outside their building; second, these building owners do not take this responsibility seriously or do not have the same amount of capital that Rome's municipal maintenance department uses to keep public streets in excellent condition. However, the street maintenance of the private streets south of Via Catania between Via Lucca and Via Pavia was comparable to the maintenance of the public streets around them. The public streets in the neighborhood and their sidewalks were in very good condition. The sidewalks were made of large, smooth blocks and were free of any cracks or weeds. An 18-year old who has lived in Italia his whole life said that the sidewalks and streets had been rehabilitated within the past few years, and that they are much better now than they were before. The project is still apparently going on, since the group saw evidence of sidewalk replacement and construction on Via Udine. The sidewalks feature bulbouts, a traffic-calming method that expands the pedestrian realm and creates clear parking areas on the street. The city’s street improvements show a long-term investment into the Italia neighborhood by the city. The pop-outs and widening of the sidewalks help improve safety and comfort conditions for

pedestrians and foster community interaction by local residents. Through interviews with local residents, the group discovered that Italia is known as Piazza Bologna by many of the younger inhabitants. An interview with an elderly woman watching her grandchildren in a small green space near Villa Torlonia revealed that Italia was indeed the "old name" for the neighborhood. Additionally, a middle-aged woman sitting with a stroller in Villa Torlonia referred to the area as Piazza Bologna while discussing her experiences there. The shift from the older name, Italia, suggests the increased importance of the Piazza Bologna Metro stop to the population of the area and also might suggest a declining significance of Italia’s landmarks to its younger and newer residents.

  10  

  11  

4. Greenery and Public Space In the map depicting Italia’s two piazze and shrubbery on the following page, green circles on the map are roughly representative of the greenery on each street. The orange blocks are Piazza Lecce to the West and Piazza delle Provincie to the East. There are young deciduous trees along the interior streets of the neighborhood. Via Catania is dotted with small orange trees, while Viale delle Provincie and Viale Ippocrate are lined with a canopy of large plane trees. In general, the public streets are tree-lined while the private streets have no notable greenery in their common areas -- any visible greenery on these streets is contained in the private gardens of apartment complexes along these streets. The entire neighborhood is generally lacking in local green spaces. As a result, many neighborhood residents make use of Villa Torlonia, a mid-sized park northwest of this area. It would be difficult, however, for the elderly residents of Italia to walk that distance on a daily basis. The building footprint of Italia shows that many of the apartment buildings have courtyards at the center of each complex. This is a possible explanation for the neighborhood's minimal public space; if residents have the interior option of private open-air space, there could be a lack of demand for spaces provided by the city. There are only two piazzas with green features that exist in the area and they are not well used. Piazza Lecce is located between two branches of Via Catanzaro that feed directly into Via Catania. The space has four small separate lawns that come together to form a square with a concrete walkway between the lawns. On the edge of each grass-filled section

there is a long bench that can seat up to fifteen people comfortably. The edge of the space that borders Via Catania has a subway vent that the city has attempted to conceal with gaunt trees. There is a drinking fountain that pedestrians often stop to use on their way past Piazza Lecce. Throughout the day the area is mainly deserted, excluding the people who park their cars along the edges of the piazza and those who frequent the newsstand located on the opposite side of the subway vent. At the eastern end of Via Catania, Piazzale delle Provincie is a roundabout that links Viale delle Provincie, Via Catania and Viale Ippocrate. In the center is a small grassy island, inaccessible by crosswalk. It contains a spiral, ramplike fountain that winds up from the ground to the top of a low hill. The shallow walls of the fountain are lined with small tiles, like the tesserae of ancient mosaics, while the cypress and olive trees planted on the hill are typical of Italy. The fountain creates a sense of motion and ascension, but its lack of water and accessibility or seating also makes it a source of frustration and disappointment for the pedestrian. Many people explained that Villa Torlonia, located to the northwest of the area surveyed, was a popular green space for residents to use and residents in Italia did not mind the walk to reach the park.

  12  

  13  

5. Building Typologies The group created a typology of the neighborhood’s buildings by conducting a thorough building-by-building survey. For this map, the group diagrammed each street in plan with schematic sketches, noting the number of stories of each building and whether they appeared to be: mixed-use (the first floor of these buildings occupied by small businesses, with the remaining floors devoted to apartments); completely residential; completely commercial; or some other category. Special designations were made for the educational buildings in the neighborhood, as well as the main nodes such as the Mercato Italia and the piazzas in the area. The typology map itself was created using a 3-D modeling program called Google Sketchup. The group decided a three-dimensional model of the neighborhood was best for representing this information because it conveys both building height and general building use. It brings Italia to life and allows the viewer to get a sense of the scale of the neighborhood. By differentiating buildings by their general function, as opposed to an aesthetic distinction, the typology map clearly shows where the patterns of activity occur within the neighborhood. One can infer from the map that most economic activity happens along the main streets, while domestic and educational activity takes place in the blocks within the borders of Via Catania, Viale Ippocrate, and Viale delle Provincie. An overview of the common architectural styles of the neighborhood, compiled by one group member through a series of visual observations and analysis, can be found in the next section.

Mixed-use buildings (colored yellow) dominate the neighborhood. They mostly line Italia’s main avenues, such as Via Catanzaro, Viale delle Provincie, Viale Ippocrate and Via Catania, which makes sense considering the ground-floor businesses that characterize these buildings will attract more business on busier streets. The majority of buildings in this category are taller and seem to be constructed recently. The buildings south of Via Catania, many of which are residential, tend to be smaller than those north of it. The residential buildings, colored blue in the model, are generally shorter than the mixed-use buildings and clustered within the inner spaces created by the mixed-use buildings that line the avenues. Early in Italia’s development, many residential buildings in the area were organized around private streets instead of courtyards. The streets seem to shape the building orientation, rather than the building footprints determining how the streets are laid out. Interviews with vendors in Mercato Italia have confirmed that Italia is an area of high property values and established, well-to-do older people. Every vendor the group talked to said that he or she did not live in the neighborhood because it was too expensive. Additionally, there are several real estate offices in the neighborhood, which advertise homes and apartments ranging in price from 500,000 Euro to more than one million Euro. The exclusively commercial buildings in the neighborhood, colored gray, are nearly all hotels and banks. The presence of hotels indicates that this is an area that people would like to visit for pleasure or need to visit for business. Hotels could also suggest the neighborhood is located in an area that provides easy access to multiple parts of Rome. There are two close-by Metro stations, Policlinico and Piazza Bologna,

  14  

  15  

and the large streets in the

neighborhood, which have several bus routes, extend far beyond the borders of Italia. The piazzas and schools appear to be at the peripheries of the area. One of the schools is private and meant for international students. The other is a public elementary school, likely to have students from Italia or neighborhoods nearby. While the function and essential importance of the Mercato Italia will be more thoroughly analyzed in section 7b, it is also unique in terms of typology. The Mercato is a significant node in the Italia neighborhood, yet its one story profile makes it the shortest building in the neighborhood. Clearly, building height is not necessarily correlated to importance here. The group decided to separate the market in category and color from all the other commercial buildings because, in addition to being a center of commerce it also serves important social functions.

 5a. Typical Architectural Styles in Italia

  16  

6. Lynchian Mapping: Collective Impressions of Italia

The ink drawing on page 18 represents the group’s collective experience of the neighborhood over the course of several visits. It is a cognitive map that employs the five main Lynchian elements of path, edge, landmark, node and district. Although the group has explored several nearby sites beyond the scope of this map, it is the small area of the Italia neighborhood itself that has been most memorable and pertinent so far. The first component drawn here is Via Catania, the broad two-way boulevard that divides the

neighborhood in half on an East-West axis. The street is a major orienting axis for the group. Bus lanes run along regularly spaced stops at raised platforms, always adjacent to a pedestrian crosswalk. The street is lined on both sides by small orange trees, whose leafiness and bright colors are especially remarkable at this time of year when most trees are still bare and gray. A steady stream of people walk on both sides of the street and enough traffic whizzes by to force one to raise one’s voice to be heard over the roar. In Lynchian terms, the imageability of this streetscape is high. The group’s site visits always start at the Metro B stop at Piazza Bologna, several blocks north of the immediate neighborhood, but Via Reggio Calabria stands out as a more specific edge because it marks the northern boundary of the group’s street-by-street analysis. To the West is Via Catanzaro, which separates Italia from the larger Piazza Bologna area and leads toward Villa Torlonia, a public park with open green space and historic houses. To the East is Viale delle Provincie, another two-way boulevard with a median running down the center for extra parking, planted with large trees. The southern edge is less clear because small private streets occupy most of that area and there are no broad boulevards to serve as an obvious edge of the neighborhood. The Mercato Italia is by far the most important node in this neighborhood, not only for the group but also for the residents of Italia. Visually speaking, it is a one-story building that occupies an entire square block and its main entrance on Via Catania is centrally located and clearly

Via Catania at dusk. Credit: Javier Alvarado  

  17  

visible from Viale delle Provincie. The façade is made of travertine and long, horizontal bricks, two of the most common construction materials in ancient Rome. The central section, containing the entrance, is divided into four open square bays by three square piers. The three bays on each side of the entrance section have rectangular windows. The three smaller bays at each end of the building have narrow windows, placing emphasis on the monumentality and openness of the entrance in the center. Two symmetrical ramps lead up to the entrance on either side, evoking the terraced axiality of classical structures, such as the Roman temple complex at Palestrina, and establishing a visual barrier between the street and the door. But the ramps are shallow and there is a central staircase that allows for a more direct approach, signifying the market’s accessibility in spite of its stoic appearance. Like an outdoor extension of the market, street vendors sell clothing and household items under small tents lined up alongside the building’s walls. Another significant node is Piazzale delle Provincie, a roundabout from which several streets radiate in a star-like formation. At the center of the circular roundabout is a small hill with a fountain and a few trees planted on top. The combination of stone, grass, trees and water is appealing, but there is nowhere to sit and it is inaccessible by crosswalk. Heavy traffic speeding around its perimeter makes it even less inviting, but it is still memorable as a visual landmark and a transitional point along Via Catania at the edge of the Italia area and the streets leading toward the nearby Cimetero del Verano.

Piazzale delle Provincie. Credit: Rob Sipchen

Mercato Italia. Credit: Rob Sipchen

  18  

Group Lynch Map

  19  

Just north of Piazzale delle Provincie, on Viale delle Provincie, is the Church of Sant’Ippolito. The church is on the eastern side of the street, serving as both a landmark for the group and a node for the citizens. Built in the Fascist era, its huge central portal and flat top give it an imposing, intimidating façade. But the brick surface is also reminiscent of the earthy, simple exteriors of Early Christian churches and mausolea, linking this modern structure to Rome’s ancient religious past. The brick walls surrounding the steps leading up to the entrance are low, allowing for easy access. Although the wooden doors are secured with metal handles, braces and hinges, the glass tympanum over the door depicts intimate, spiritual images, such as Christ surrounded by angels, grape vines and doves drinking. The inscription over the door, “PAX ET BONVM,” confirms the church’s function as a peaceful institution in the neighborhood. Like Italia’s market and theater, the church is an example of Fascist architecture that contrasts with the typically aggressive, colossal appearance of Fascist political structures. At the western edge of the neighborhood, on the other end of Via Catania, is the Teatro Italia – another key landmark of the area. The theater’s dark gray color, massive columns and sculptural motifs are visually striking and unambiguously Fascist. Its convex, rounded façade protrudes according to the curve of the sidewalk itself, reflecting an attempt to adapt the building to the already existing streetscape. But its dark masonry, wide façade, colossal columns and massive sculptures are so muscular and intimidating that the building dominates the street block. While the façade recalls the basic structure of an ancient temple, the motifs are modified in a typically fascist style. The engaged columns

are attached to the façade with two layers of stylized scallops and leaves, a pattern that also appears beneath the Ionic scrolls of the capitals. Five open niches above the columns contain sculptures in classical poses and dress, evoking ancient Greco-Roman theatrical symbolism that relates to the building’s function as a theater. The eagles in high relief and the lion heads above the entablature convey the strength and power of the Fascist regime, while the smooth coping along the roof edge replaces the complexity of a decorated cornice and is a typical feature of 1930s architecture. The inscription on the façade reads, “Dopolavoro Ferrovario di Roma,” indicating its association with the railroad workers of Rome, who owned much of the real estate property and nearby private streets behind the theater.

Church of Sant’Ippolito. Credit: Sant'Ippolito Parish Website

  20  

The Mercato Italia, with its unadorned brick-and-travertine façade planned during Mussolini’s reign in the 1930s, represents another version of Fascist architecture. Both the market and the theater contain “Italia” in their names, and stand out strongly as defining features of the neighborhood and poignant reminders of its Fascist past. Across the street from Teatro Italia on Via Catania is Piazza Lecce, a small public space with a few benches and limited greenery. By splitting the street into two narrow pathways, the piazza serves as a resting spot as well as a transition between the high traffic intensity of Via Catania and the slightly calmer Via Catanzaro branching off from it. This did not qualify as a node in the collective thought of the group, since it was a very under-utilized space; however, a car share with two available vehicles parked next to the piazza give it a public function. However, it became a landmark because it

helped the group distinguish when it was at the edge of its designated neighborhood area. The purple markings on the map represent “minor landmarks” in the collective mind of the group. These were not especially distinguishing features of the neighborhood; they were simply sights that helped the group establish their bearings or, in some cases, confirm that the group had left its bounded area of thorough street-by-street survey. For example, an interesting fascist monument, located in Piazza Salerno just beyond the western edge of Italia, is qualified as a minor landmark. Piazza Salerno serves as a roundabout from which Via Catania and several other smaller streets radiate in the form of a star. In the center of the roundabout is a fascist monument, inaccessible by pedestrian crosswalk.

Teatro Italia. Credit: Rob Sipchen

  21  

The base of the monument consists of shallow, sloping circular levels, with a simple step distinguishing it from the grass. Two stacked triangular slabs, with flat facets at each corner instead of points, form the pedestal. The entablature above the columns repeats this motif. The three columns themselves are travertine, with no bases and negligible capitals, evoking the austerity of ancient Roman architecture. However, their simplicity points to an effort to replicate the appearance of Roman ruins, rather than the original structures that were often covered in elaborate decoration and lavish materials. This was typical of fascist architecture and ideology as part of the rhetoric to create a connection and dialog between the Roman Empire’s past and the Fascist Era of the time. The columns are arranged in an equilateral triangle, on each side of which is a tall, inscribed pedestal supporting a niche of dark stone. In each niche is a carved face, gazing out onto the radial streets. In the center of the entablature is a round opening, almost like the oculus of the Pantheon, which corresponds to the hollow center of the entire monument. From a distance, one might expect this structure to be a fountain or a small temple, but in fact it is highly compressed and inverted in that its basic shape is a circle within a triangle, rather than the conventional square or larger circle as the outermost shape. The repetition of the number three might allude to the three bundles of sticks, a fascist symbol taken from Classical iconography that connotes punishment and harsh rule. The inscription on the entablature is written in Roman capital letters, reading “Roma MCMXXX” on one side and “Anno IX E.F.” on another. This indicates that the monument was built in 1930, which was also Year 9 of the Fascist Era—as

if suggesting Mussolini’s reign marked the beginning of an entirely new temporal and global history. The monument is, therefore, a static reminder of the fascist influence on the neighborhood of Italia. Yet its structure can also be

Monument at Piazza Salerno. Credit: Caroline Stern

  22  

separated from its historic significance, in that it serves as a visual landmark on the principal street of Via Catania and as a physical link for the converging adjacent streets. On the edges of Italia are the Cimitero del Verano to the southeast, private playing fields to the east and Villa Torlonia to the northwest. While the group did not ask any interviewees to draw their own Lynch maps of the neighborhood, comments made by interviewees are incorporated in the final Lynch map. Four of fifteen interviewees mentioned Villa Torlonia at least once while talking to the group, and one 18-year old student said his favorite thing to do was play football on the private fields. Another interviewee considered the cemetery the southeastern boundary of the neighborhood. The group’s Lynch map is an attempt to combine these aspects of locals’ cognitive maps with its own. For another group cognitive map, refer to Appendix 4.

  23  

7. Business and Economy in Italia

Via Catania is the main commercial street of Italia. Many local businesses can be found here, including Mercato Italia. The market is the most prominent open commercial and social space in the neighborhood, with vendors inside selling fresh produce, bread, meat, poultry and flowers. Sidewalk vendors surround the building, selling clothing, shoes and home appliances. Along Via Pavia, the street behind the market running parallel to Via Catania, immigrants have their own tables and sell goods ranging from used clothes to kitchen supplies. Another essential feature of the market is the Banca del Tempo, a “time bank” that facilitates community interaction and creates social capital by bringing people together. 7a. Small Businesses The group recorded the names and types of each business apparent on the ground floor of each building in Italia, in addition to its approximate street frontage in proportion to the rest of the street. The group determined each business by each doorway on the street. Once all the field data was collected, each business was categorized as one of 22 possible business types and color-coded accordingly on a map made in ArcGIS. The 22 categories chosen were the best means to display the variety of businesses and services in Italia while maintaining some simplicity for the viewer. The footprint of each business in the building is approximated to the best of the group’s ability, as square footage

measurements of each establishment were not available. An inventory of the businesses in Italia is essential in order to achieve an understanding what kinds of markets the area supports and who the intended consumers of these businesses are. One can see immediately from looking at the summarizing map on page 25 that most of this neighborhood is residential (yellow). Because the group used doorways to determine each business, many of the “ground floor businesses” in the neighborhood are designated as residences on the map. The "businesses" designated as residential are entrances to apartment buildings. Entirely residential buildings are clustered together, internal to the boundaries created by Italia’s main avenues. While residences were included in the first floor businesses map, they were excluded from the table and graph below because, due to their intense presence, their inclusion would skew the percentages of each of the other categories to appear insignificant in comparison. In addition, the group is interested in comparing the types, numbers, and locations of businesses in the neighborhood with each other, not with residences, which are necessarily omnipresent. In terms of all the other categories, the table and graph make it apparent that the most numerous type of businesses in the neighborhood are clothing and accessory stores, making up 21.4 % of retail spaces on these streets. The next most common are home/hardware/electronics stores and beauty/self care stores or services, at 9.3% and 7.8% respectively. These are all stores and services geared toward that people with a certain level of disposable income use, particularly beauty and self-

  24  

care establishments such as cosmetics stores, private fitness centers, hairdressers and tanning salons. Their frequent presence in Italia suggests that they are well used by the residents of the area, who presumably have enough disposable income to enjoy them. Along these lines, the presence of banks and real estate offices in an area can indicate that the people there have money and property that need to be managed. The large teal square on the map is the Mercato Italia. The vendors in this large covered market sell a few products other than food, but the market space overall was classified as a specialty food provider. The group decided to do this because the market’s main commodities are the fresh produce, fish, meats, cheeses and breads at individual stalls within the building as well as other specialty food products like artichokes and wine. While there are other specialty food stores within the boundaries of the group’s survey, the Mercato Italia is the largest of these spaces and, according to group observations, very well used. There are only eleven restaurants in Italia, while there are nearly twice as many bars and snack shops. The predominance of these informal eateries, usually only open during the day, may indicate the diurnal character of the neighborhood: the streets are full of life during the day, yet with a high number of residential buildings and small number of late-night establishments, the feeling of the area is quite different after the dinner hour. Most students who live in the area – of which there are many since La Sapienza university borders the neighborhood to the southwest – told the group that they prefer to socialize in San Lorenzo, a district to the southwest with many bars and clubs that are open at night.

Inventory of Ground Floor Businesses in Italia

Category of Business Amount found in Italia

Percentage of Total Businesses

Jewelry/Watches/Antiques 16 7.8% Bar/Snack Bar 21 10.2% Clothing/Accessories 44 21.4% Home/Hardware/Electronics 19 9.3% Beauty/Self Care 16 7.8% Hotel/Travel Agency 5 2.4% School 2 .97% Real Estate 8 3.9% Medical 11 5.4% Bank 5 2.4% Tabacchi/Gambling 5 2.4% Internet Café/Copy/Amenities/Post Office

11 5.4%

Restaurants 11 5.4% Specialty Food Stores 10 4.9% Gifts/Flowers/Miscellaneous 9 4.4% Sports 1 .49% Cell Phone 3 1.5% Newsstand 2 .97% Professional Studio 3 1.5% Vacant 3 1.5%

TOTAL 205 100%

  25  

  26  

The hotel/travel agency and bank categories indicate the wealth in the area, confirmed in many of the group's interviews, since these types of businesses respectively require a customer base with disposable income and money to invest.

The miscellaneous gift and homewares stores are mainly businesses owned by East Asian immigrants. The abundant internet cafés are also a sign of the immigrant and global influence on Italia. The internet cafés are clearly marketed toward immigrant workers and residents instead of native Italians. Every café prominently displays the countries that can be called – Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Albania, Eritrea, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cuba, Turkey and

numerous others. It does not appear that these cafés are for native Italians who do not have internet access in their own homes or students from the local universities who quickly need to check their e-mails. The high number of clothing and self-care shops also indicate that Italia has disposable income. The clothing stores in Italia are high-end boutiques, although the clothes sold by the street vendors along the west side of Mercato Italia range from one to twenty-five euro. The clothing stores in Italia are also concentrated on the major arterial roads that connect Italia to the rest of the city. This could indicate that these businesses attract customers from outside the neighborhood by taking advantage of the bus stops and Italia’s proximity to several Metro stops, namely Piazza Bologna.

A bar in Piazza Lecce. Credit: Nina Coveney  

  27  

7b. The Mercato Italia as a Commercial Hub The Mercato Italia is a covered market, a rare sight in Rome. It houses almost a third of Italia’s businesses and the area immediately around the market contains a majority of Italia’s total businesses. Mercato Italia was planned and constructed in the 1930s, although World War II postponed the market’s opening to the 1950s. The market is valued by its vendors for having underground storage and fridge space, and for being located in a supportive neighborhood. After interviewing various vendors in the market, key issues regarding management, competition and consumer tastes come to light. For the past ten years Mercato Italia has operated as a cooperative market, run by the vendors themselves. The city government had contracted the management of the market to a private firm but parking and maintenance issues persisted during this period. When the city’s contract ended with this firm the market vendors decided to collectively buy and operate the market. Although it is not clear how rents in the market compare to street based businesses, the group found that monthly rent for food vendors in the market is 100 euro, totaling 1,200 euro per year. As a cooperative, the vendors are able to address immediately the issues that they face such as improving the parking situation around the market and replacing old air ducts. The vendors keep 80% of their rent for repairs and improvements to the market, or roughly 960 euro for the market per year. The remaining 20% still is paid to the city as rent. The vendors also control the competition in the market by voting on who can move into empty stalls in the market.

Thus, they strategically limit the amount of competition they receive in the market in order to keep their prices up collectively. The vendors’ decision to limit who can enter the market economically is partly a reaction to the liberalization of business license laws in the early 2000s by left-wing government under the Bersani Law. The Bersani Law was designed to open up access and competition in local businesses by significantly reducing the cost of a business license and, therefore, the cost to enter existing markets. However, this deregulation led to the devaluing of existing business licenses, which were passed down or sold off for a sum on which a merchant could retire. This means that most of the merchants in Mercato Italia have lost the capital that they had invested in their own licenses, which is valued at 50,000 euro. Coupled with the general economic downturn that Italy and the rest of Europe is currently facing, the past few years have been hard on the merchants. As a cooperative, however, the market has been able to respond quickly to the changes that are occurring in Italia. In reaction to changes in the lifestyles of Italians, the Mercato Italia has set up evening hours during the week. This move was done to provide service to the growing number of community members who work all day and come home too late to shop at the Mercato. As the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) 2001 Census data shows, the majority of Italia’s workforce is employed by the government in service-oriented jobs located outside of the neighborhood. On visits to Italia during the day, the group saw a majority of elderly, presumably retired individuals and very few working age individuals. On night visits to the neighborhood and specifically the market, there was a significantly younger population shopping at the

  28  

  29  

  30  

market and walking around the neighborhood. However, these changes to traditional market schedules have not completely reversed current shifts in the neighborhoods towards supermarkets and fast food restaurants. On one visit to the night market the group noticed that the Centro Freschenza Cruciani supermarket on the corner of Piazzale delle Provincie and Viale Ippocrate – only one block away from Mercato Italia – was overflowing with people waiting to buy groceries even though the market was open late. There are no modern supermarkets within the boundaries of the survey, although there are several in the immediate surroundings, including two along Viale Ippocrate just 200 meters from Piazza delle Provincie and a block from Mercato Italia. Many vendors and customers of Mercato Italia that the group interviewed said young people do not shop there. A young man the group talked to on the street confirmed that although the market is a short walk from his flat, he prefers to drive to a supermarket that is slightly further away because it has everything that he needs all in one place. The increasing amount of cases such as this young man have led some of the life-long residents of the neighborhood to believe that the area has declined over the past few decades. Their perception centers on the exodus of higher-quality, Italian family-owned shops and restaurants from the area that have made way for shops and businesses with a lower price point. Despite this, Mercato Italia has functioned in its present location for nearly 60 years.

  31  

7c. The Time Bank as a Civic Enabler The Banca del Tempo has occupied a small corner room of the Mercato Italia for the past five years. The premise of this unique organization is the creation of a "bank" where the account holders exchange their time and skills with others. The currency of this bank is not euros, but hours. Upon joining, account holders fill out a form where they identify useful skills they have; common examples include teaching foreign languages, cooking, and using or fixing computers. When a member needs a service, they email or call the volunteers who run the office space in Mercato Italia, who then work to match them up with an account holder with the skills they need who may be willing to exchange services. In this way, people without a lot of money, or those who simply want to interact with new people, can learn new skills and receive important services they may not have been able to obtain otherwise. No money is ever exchanged; account holders pay for services or lessons with an equal amount of their time and skills. The volunteers working in the office when the group visited explained that there are about 600 active account holders at this time and that it is very popular with young people, particularly for language tutoring. They also said most of the Banca del Tempo clients are not Italia residents but, rather, are employed in the neighborhood. Many account holders are immigrants and the volunteers have noted many South Americans, Mexicans and Ukranians involved with the organization. The city provides minimal support for the time bank, only supplying the small office space and the telephone they use.

It is instead kept afloat by an organization called SOS Razzismo, whose specific goal of combating racism enhances and informs the time bank’s goal of integrating immigrants into the city. The Banca del Tempo is in fact one of just two multi-ethnic time banks in Rome, aiming to bring citizens, new immigrants and people of different ages together. The time bank is a social enabler in the neighborhood, whose model can facilitate interaction and integration among people in the neighborhood. The time bank is a positive entity in the community and its format can be replicated in other places. All one has to do is dedicate some time and share one’s skills with other people, learning how to prepare artichokes, practice yoga, speak Spanish or play the piano. In many ways, this institution works to eradicate inequities and promote true diversity because people's differences are valued and utilized as a source of knowledge and understanding rather than of a point of contention.

  32  

8. Demographic Data: Who lives in Italia?

The data that the group gathered from the field combined with the research the group conducted through the available ISTAT 2001 data has created a broad image of Italia.1

                                                                                                               1 The ISTAT data fields used to examine Italia were SEZ 2050104,

2050105, 2050106, 2050114, 2050119, 2050121, 2050125, 2050130, 2050132, 2050137, 2050138, 2050141, 2050142, 2050150, 2050155, 2050156, 2050161, and 2050167.

A table of the compiled ISTAT 2001 data for all of Italia can be found in Appendix 5. From the ISTAT data the group found that there are over 3,800 people who live in Italia. The age data from ISTAT 2001 showed us that Italia is a very well balanced neighborhood demographically with a large youth population. The population spread of Italia shows that it is at a stable growth rate and position, evidenced by the elementary school at the edge of the neighborhood. 18.77% of Italia’s total population is retired and the largest age demographic is persons older than 74 with 13.21% of people falling into this category. Data found on employment in Italia points to expected trends. 82.1% of Italia’s workers are employed in “other activities,” rather than agricultural or industrial jobs. This was expected because there are no agricultural sites in Italia and the neighborhood overall does not feel like a working class neighborhood. In the ISTAT 2001 occupation categories, “other activities” represents all occupations that are not related to agricultural or industrial production.

  33  

“Other activity” essentially corresponds to service-oriented jobs such as government employees, entrepreneurs, and sanitation workers. The two largest occupation categories in Italia according to the ISTAT data are commercial, restaurant and government employee, defense. Both of these occupation fields are in the “other Activity” category. 11.8% of the workforce is professionals and entrepreneurs. The large amount of professionals and service oriented workers in Italia could be an indicator of the high living cost of the neighborhood as these professions tend to pay more than agricultural or manufacturing jobs. In the workforce population there was only 5.2% unemployment and searching for work. The majority of the non-labor force population is retired. Other groups in this category are students and domestic homemakers. Because the group was not sure if the student category in ISTAT encompassed only university students or all students from preschool to college the group created the “Estimated College Student” category on its map of retired and college student populations. The group did this to focus on the population of university students living in

Italia because of Italia’s close proximity to La Sapienza University. To calculate the estimated university student population the group subtracted the population of children aged 5-19 from each ISTAT census tract. This was done assuming that every child age 5-19 is attending school. However, as the map of the displays a dot dispersal of the retired and student populations in Italia shows, the students do not actually live where the group had expected. The Retired and College Student Population map, found on page 35, shows where college students and retired people live in Italia. The group had expected to find college students clustered in the southwest section of Italia near Via Udine and Via Lucca because these streets are closest to the universities in Rome. The group also decided to map this information with the ISTAT data of retired residents over the information on the population outside of the workforce to see which group, if either, was a significant factor on the population of residents outside of the labor force. The map reveals that in actuality the estimated university students lived in the areas of Italia furthest from the universities. The elderly population in Italia was, for the most part, evenly spread across the entire clustering north of Via Catania.

Occupation

Amount

Percent of Total Italia Population

Total Outside Labor Force 1,764 45.60% Domestic, Home Maker 417 10.78%

Total Student 398 10.29% Ideal College Student 51 1.32%

Total Retired 726 18.77%

  34  neighborhood with a slight majority of retired residents

  35  The ISTAT 2001 data also revealed that number of rentals

  36  

The ISTAT 2001 data also revealed that number of rentals in Italia was lower than the group had expected to find. The group had expected a higher amount of rental properties and college-age students in the southwest section of the neighborhood due to that area’s close proximity to Rome’s major universities. The maps of renter and college student distribution proved that this was not the case at all. However, the group questions how accurate this data is and whether or not these apartments are indeed rentals that are not reported to the authorities.

The map of rental and owner occupied properties also shows us that a majority of Italia residents own their own apartment or house. Most of the rental units are located in the northern section of Italia. There is a little correlation between the dispersal of estimated college students and rental units. It appears though that there are more than just students renting in Italia. The ISTAT 2001 data also included a “resident in another capacity” category. The group was not clear about

what this category encompassed. The group speculated that these were residents who do not own the dwelling but do not pay rent to stay there. The group suspects this could possibly be for students living in an apartment owned by a family member for free or other informal living arrangements that likely rely on close social ties between the resident and the owner. Immigrant Population

Amount Residing In Italia

Percent of Total Italia Population

Immigrant: Europe 132 3.41% Immigrant: Africa 38 0.98% Immigrant: Americas 13 0.34% Immigrant: Asia 32 0.83% Immigrant Oceania 49 1.27% Stateless Persons 0 0.00% Total Immigrants 264 6.83%

The ISTAT data supports the group’s observations that there was a noteworthy population of immigrant residents in Italia. According to ISTAT 6.83% of Italia’s total population is foreign born. These numbers do not take into account the numerous immigrant workers who commute to Italia to work in the Mercato Italia and the stalls outside of it along Via Pavia. Nonetheless this data shows that there are immigrants who have been able to afford moving into Italia. The majority of immigrants are form Oceania and, based off of the groups observations of small businesses in the area, are from the Philippines and Indonesia.  

  37  

  38  

9. Interview Themes The group conducted fifteen interviews over three separate visits. A mediating translator initiated short discussions in Italian with the interviewees and provided summaries of the responses to the group in English. The group only conducted informal interviews: the most common format was stopping people on the street or approaching vendors in Mercato Italia to ask questions. The group did not ask for interviewees’ names, but only identified them by their activities and/or location at the time of the interview. Questions for vendors in the Mercato Italia included:

How and when did you acquire your stall? Who are your customers? Do you live in the neighborhood? Where do you purchase your products? Do you feel that the market has improved or declined

in recent years? Questions for local residents in public spaces included:

How long have you lived in Italia? What do you consider to be the boundaries of the

neighborhood? What changes have you noticed in the neighborhood

in recent years? What do you like about Italia? What would you change about the neighborhood?

Questions for students and young residents included:

Are you a student at La Sapienza? Do you live in Italia?

Where do you go to socialize or meet friends? Is this considered a young neighborhood? What is your favorite thing to do here?

The group discovered several recurring themes in interviewee responses, summarized below. For notes on each individual interview, refer to Appendix 6. The individual with whom the group spoke the most is an artichoke vendor in Mercato Italia. He had received his artichoke stand from his father and his son has his own stand in the market. The theme of families passing down the management of small businesses came up repeatedly, as four of the six vendors the group interviewed said they had come to work at their stall because they had inherited it from a parent. They each must have a license to run their stalls, passed down through generations along with the business. The licenses seemed to be a point of contention, at least for the artichoke vendor, who explained that they used to be expensive and difficult to acquire, but now with their liberalization through the Bersani Law of 2006, the effort his family went through to get their license is almost worthless. In recent years, Mercato Italia has shifted from being owned by the municipality to being owned by the vendors themselves in a co-op system. Everyone agreed that this move to self-management was a positive one; a strong economic decline in Italia had put the market in danger, yet things have turned around since they shifted to managing themselves. The municipality was not keeping up maintenance of the building, but now the vendors can handle it themselves – only 20% of the market’s revenue goes to the city now, and the rest is used for repairs and such. All the vendors said that about half of their customers were residents

  39  

of the surrounding neighborhood, and about half came from outside the neighborhood – presumably people who work in the area. In addition, they all said that they did not live in the immediate vicinity because the neighborhood is too expensive for them. Another interesting point that came up in several interviews relates to the name of the area. Multiple interviewees explained that Italia is the old name for the neighborhood, but in more recent years it has come to be called Piazza Bologna. This is presumably because of the importance of this square in the connectivity of the neighborhood to greater Rome, since this is where the closest Metro stop is located. On that note, all the interviewees regarded the boundaries of the neighborhood to be larger and more inclusive than the specific boundaries the group designated for an in-depth survey. Most included Villa Torlonia, the large public park in the area, within the boundaries, and extended its southwestern edge all the way to the border of San Lorenzo and the southeastern edge to the Cemetery. Many of the older people interviewed, residents and vendors alike, felt that the neighborhood is not what it used to be, painting a collective picture of a time (before the 1980’s and 1990’s, presumably) when the area was composed entirely of high-quality, small family businesses, well-maintained facilities, and Italians with traditional values who all knew each other. All the older people described Italia as an area full of students, yet when the group talked to students of the nearby university they seemed to all look to other areas, closer to the university, as more important places in their lives. Many of them said they had no reason to venture northwest of the university (into Italia), and few had been as

far north as Via Catania.

  40  

10.Conclusions and Questions for Future Research Field work and analysis of the Italia neighborhood the group have pointed to several key issues: an increasingly diverse population, a lack of public green space and a change in the make-up of the small businesses and neighborhood market. With its private streets and enduring traces of a fascist past in its architecture, it will be interesting to observe how Italia's traditional residents respond to the increasing presence of students and immigrants and liberalizing economic policies. Italia is a vibrant neighborhood with a dynamic street life but large chain stores may push small specialty shops out of business in the near future. Italia is adapting to this new economic environment, however: the market has taken steps to compete with large supermarkets by becoming a private cooperative and making more efficient use of its resources. For future research the group proposes a closer examination of the following issues:

The use of public and private space: exploring the differences between the public and private streets and how they are used. What is the impact of exclusive private parking streets?

How can green space and public space be improved so that they are more integrated into the neighborhood?

The changing dynamics of the market: why are there empty stalls? Is there tension between the vendors inside the market who purchase licenses and the vendors lined up outside the market? What are the implications of chain supermarkets for this traditional Italian market?

Is the presence of chain stores increasing and how will it affect family owned businesses?

For immigrants, how can social interaction be facilitated in the neighborhood? Is the time bank a good model for cultural integration?

Italia has great potential to thrive in the near future as a prosperous and attractive neighborhood. Streets are well-maintained, residents interact with each other, its population is diverse and local amenities adequately serve the community. As planning students and observers of the city, the group hopes Italia will stay beautiful, vibrant, accessible and equitable in the future.

  41  

 

 Piazza  Lecce    

       

 Via  Reggio-­‐Calabria  

Appendix 1: Examples of building-by-building sketches accompanying street-by-street surveys, from Rob Sipchen’s field notes  

  42  

Appendix 2: Information gathered in the group’s street-by-street survey 1. Location (Street, indicating specific street segment): 2. Is the street private or public? 3. Street type: 4. Description of sidewalks: 5. State of repair of the street and sidewalks: 6. Traffic Intensity: 7. Trees and Greenery visible: 8. General Building Typologies:

  43  

Appendix 3: Street-by-Street survey results

LOCATION Private Street? Street Type

Via Reggio-Calabria, btw V. d. Provincie + V. Cremona No mixed residential, one way Via Reggio-Calabria, btw V. Cremona + V. Arezzo No residential, one way Via Arezzo, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Catanzaro No small, one way, mixed residential Via Catanzaro, btw V. Arezzo + V. Padova No main arterial, wide, 2-way. Via Catanzaro, btw V. Padova + V. Catania, and Piazza Lecce No 2-way. Traffic diverges around central piazza Via Catania, btw V. Catanzaro + V. Arezzo/Lucca No

main arterial, wide, 2-way. Bus lanes in median. Frequent Billboards

Via Catania, btw V. Arezzo/Lucca + Pza d. Provincie No

main arterial, wide, 2-way. Bus lanes in median. Frequent Billboards

Via Carnia Yes Small, one-way, residential Via Cremona, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Padova No narrow, one way Via Cremona, btw V. Padova and V. Catania No narrow, one way Via Polesine Yes Private, no through traffic, main purpose is parking lot Via Padova, btw V. Catanzaro + V. Lucca/Arezzo No Mid-width, one way, no billboards Via Padova, btw V. Arezzo + V. d. Provincie No Mid-width, one way, no billboards Via Garfagnana Yes Private, barricaded on both ends, no cars Via Arezzo, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Padova No One-way, mid-width Via Lungiana Yes Private, barricaded on one end

Via Capitanata Yes Private, barricaded on one end. Short - just an alley between 2 buildings

Via Arezzo, btw V. Catania + V. Padova No Mid-width, one way, no billboards Viale delle Provincie, btw Pza d. Provincie + V. Reggio-Calabria No Wide, arterial, 2-way with median for parking

  44  

Viale Ippocrate, btw Pza d. Provincie and V. Giuseppe Sisco No Commercial, 2-way street. 12 paces Via Giuseppe Sisco, btw V. Ippocrate and V. Pavia No

Side street: parking garages, bank, 9 paces, residential side street, only one entrance

Via Siena, btw V. Pavia and V. Giuseppe Sisco Yes Private, residential Via Lucca No Residential Via Pavia, btw V. Cantania and V. Lucca No Residential and commercial, market with outside vendors Via Pavia, btw V. Cantania and V. Lucca No Residential and commercial, market with outside vendors Via Domenico Morichini Both Residential and Commercial, market with outside vendors Via Cuneo Yes Residential, private with blockade Via Cantania No Commercial with market Via Giuseppe De Mattheis No Commercial, some residential

Via Udine No Residential, Hotel, Public, post office on corner of udine and cantania, one way street

Via Potenza No Residential, commerical (bike shop)

Via Foggia Yes Residential w/ gate (private property sign) LOCATION Description of Sidewalks Via Reggio-Calabria, btw V. d. Provincie + V. Cremona Stone pavers. no street furniture. Bulbouts at intersections Via Reggio-Calabria, btw V. Cremona + V. Arezzo

Stone pavers, widened area w/ modern stone benches in front of school.

Via Arezzo, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Catanzaro Stone pavers. no street furniture except one bench in a bulbout Via Catanzaro, btw V. Arezzo + V. Padova

Narrow compared to st, no public street furniture. Mid-block crosswalks

Via Catanzaro, btw V. Padova + V. Catania, and Piazza Lecce Wide, same as last section of Catanzaro Via Catania, btw V. Catanzaro + V. Arezzo/Lucca stone pavers, wide. Via Catania, btw V. Arezzo/Lucca + Pza d. Provincie stone pavers, wide. Varies in width for bus stops in the median Via Carnia Only one one side of the street, only about 2.5 ft wide. Via Cremona, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Padova

Generous. Bulbouts at intersections create parallel parking. No street furniture

  45  

Via Cremona, btw V. Padova and V. Catania

Wide and nice, no street furniture except a bench outside of a restaurant

Via Polesine Normal width one side, non-existent other side. All asphalt, like the street

Via Padova, btw V. Catanzaro + V. Lucca/Arezzo Stone pavers, wide. no street furniture. Bulbouts at intersections Via Padova, btw V. Arezzo + V. d. Provincie Stone pavers, wide. no street furniture. Bulbouts at intersections

Via Garfagnana Almost none except a small strip in front of a few buildings, overgrown and in disrepair

Via Arezzo, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Padova Stone pavers, wide. no street furniture. Bulbouts at intersections Via Lungiana Only around some buildings, and narrow - only about 2.5-3 ft wide Via Capitanata Narrow, 3-ft wide, made of small stone pavers.

Via Arezzo, btw V. Catania + V. Padova Stone pavers, wide. no street furniture except one bench outside a pizzeria. Bulbouts at intersections

Viale delle Provincie, btw Pza d. Provincie + V. Reggio-Calabria 8-10 ft wide, stone pavers Viale Ippocrate, btw Pza d. Provincie and V. Giuseppe Sisco Clean, trash receptacles Via Giuseppe Sisco, btw V. Ippocrate and V. Pavia fairly clean Via Siena, btw V. Pavia and V. Giuseppe Sisco clean Via Lucca clean Via Pavia, btw V. Cantania and V. Lucca dog waste, residential siede cleaner than commercial Via Pavia, btw V. Cantania and V. Lucca dog waste, residential side cleaner than commercial Via Domenico Morichini fairly clean Via Cuneo clean Via Cantania fairly clean Via Giuseppe De Mattheis failry clean Via Udine fairly clean Via Potenza fairly clean (narrow driving street) Via Foggia clean, narrow, "proprieta privata" engraved on sidewalk

  46  

LOCATION Street and Sidewalk State of Repair Traffic Intensity Via Reggio-Calabria, btw V. d. Provincie + V. Cremona Excellent Light Via Reggio-Calabria, btw V. Cremona + V. Arezzo Excellent Light Via Arezzo, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Catanzaro Excellent Light/Medium Via Catanzaro, btw V. Arezzo + V. Padova Excellent Medium/ Heavy Via Catanzaro, btw V. Padova + V. Catania, and Piazza Lecce Excellent Medium Via Catania, btw V. Catanzaro + V. Arezzo/Lucca Very Good, seem older Medium/ Heavy Via Catania, btw V. Arezzo/Lucca + Pza d. Provincie Very Good Medium/ Heavy Via Carnia Poor Light Via Cremona, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Padova Excellent Light Via Cremona, btw V. Padova and V. Catania Excellent Light Via Polesine Fair (cracked sidewalks) Light Via Padova, btw V. Catanzaro + V. Lucca/Arezzo Excellent Light Via Padova, btw V. Arezzo + V. d. Provincie Very Good Light Via Garfagnana Poor Light Via Arezzo, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Padova Excellent Light Via Lungiana Poor/Fair Light Via Capitanata Fair Light Via Arezzo, btw V. Catania + V. Padova Excellent Light Viale delle Provincie, btw Pza d. Provincie + V. Reggio-Calabria Very Good Medium/ Heavy Viale Ippocrate, btw Pza d. Provincie and V. Giuseppe Sisco upkept medium Via Giuseppe Sisco, btw V. Ippocrate and V. Pavia upkept light Via Siena, btw V. Pavia and V. Giuseppe Sisco upkept light Via Lucca paved and well-maintained light Via Pavia, btw V. Cantania and V. Lucca upkept light Via Pavia, btw V. Cantania and V. Lucca upkept light Via Domenico Morichini upkept with some construction light

  47  

Via Cuneo upkept light Via Cantania upkept medium Via Giuseppe De Mattheis upkept light

Via Udine street paved w/ some crack, dog waste, wide and clean light

Via Potenza paved sidewalks and streets light Via Foggia paved, well-maintained light

LOCATION Trees/Shrubbery Via Reggio-Calabria, btw V. d. Provincie + V. Cremona

Skinny deciduous trees. In-ground planters near street, 7-9 paces apart

Via Reggio-Calabria, btw V. Cremona + V. Arezzo

tall skinny deciduous trees. In front of school , 6 circular planter areas for small shrubs. Only one occupied.

Via Arezzo, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Catanzaro

skinny deciduous trees, no foliage. Potted shrubberies in front of one store

Via Catanzaro, btw V. Arezzo + V. Padova Skinny deciduous trees. In-ground planters near street, 8-9 paces apart Via Catanzaro, btw V. Padova + V. Catania, and Piazza Lecce Skinny deciduous trees. Grass and leafy trees in Piazza Lecce Via Catania, btw V. Catanzaro + V. Arezzo/Lucca Orange trees in in-ground planters, covered with tree grates Via Catania, btw V. Arezzo/Lucca + Pza d. Provincie Orange trees in in-ground planters, covered with tree grates Via Carnia None -- although greenery visible inside private condo courtyards Via Cremona, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Padova skinny deciduous trees, no foliage. Via Cremona, btw V. Padova and V. Catania skinny deciduous trees, no foliage. Via Polesine None -- although greenery visible from private balconies/terraces Via Padova, btw V. Catanzaro + V. Lucca/Arezzo Mid-sized deciduous trees, no foliage. Cherry blossoms perhaps. Via Padova, btw V. Arezzo + V. d. Provincie

Mid-sized deciduous trees, no foliage. Cherry blossoms perhaps. Potted plants in front of some businesses

Via Garfagnana None, except weeds growing through cracks and greenery visible inside private condo courtyards

  48  

Via Arezzo, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Padova skinny deciduous trees, no foliage.

Via Lungiana None, except weeds growing through cracks and potted plants outside one condo entrance

Via Capitanata None, potted plants outside each condo entrance Via Arezzo, btw V. Catania + V. Padova

skinny deciduous trees, no foliage. Potted shrubberies in front of two stores

Viale delle Provincie, btw Pza d. Provincie + V. Reggio-Calabria

None on sidewalks. Tall deciduous trees, no foliage, line the wide median in pairs.

Viale Ippocrate, btw Pza d. Provincie and V. Giuseppe Sisco Via Giuseppe Sisco, btw V. Ippocrate and V. Pavia Via Siena, btw V. Pavia and V. Giuseppe Sisco Via Lucca trees line the street Via Pavia, btw V. Cantania and V. Lucca few trees Via Pavia, btw V. Cantania and V. Lucca few trees Via Domenico Morichini some Via Cuneo some Via Cantania Via Giuseppe De Mattheis Via Udine trees w/o leaves (small, flowery/leafy) Via Potenza tall trees, no leaves, palm tree Via Foggia minimum, ppl add their own

LOCATION General Building Typology Via Reggio-Calabria, btw V. d. Provincie + V. Cremona Residential condominiums, 6-8 floors Via Reggio-Calabria, btw V. Cremona + V. Arezzo 6-story condos, 3-story school 6-7-story modern hotel Via Arezzo, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Catanzaro

East side: 10-story residential. West side: 5-7-story residential w/ retail 1st level

Via Catanzaro, btw V. Arezzo + V. Padova

Heavy retail w/ residential above. Some office/medical office buildings.

Via Catanzaro, btw V. Padova + V. Catania, and Piazza Lecce Mixed residential, retail 1st level

  49  

Via Catania, btw V. Catanzaro + V. Arezzo/Lucca Diverse -- heavy retail w/ residential above, 10-story or so Via Catania, btw V. Arezzo/Lucca + Pza d. Provincie

heavy retail w/ residential above. One-story market dominates this block.

Via Carnia 6-story residential condos with small gated entrance areas Via Cremona, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Padova 6-7 story residential buildings only Via Cremona, btw V. Padova and V. Catania 6-7 story residential with retail/restaurants on first level

Via Polesine mostly the backs/sides of buildings fronting on Catania and Padova. All 6-story

Via Padova, btw V. Catanzaro + V. Lucca/Arezzo 5-6-story residential, with retail 1st level Via Padova, btw V. Arezzo + V. d. Provincie 6-7 story residential with retail/restaurants on first level Via Garfagnana 5-7 story residential buildings only Via Arezzo, btw V. Reggio-Calabria + V. Padova

5-story residential, some but not all buildings have retail 1st level.

Via Lungiana 6-7 story residential buildings, evidence of one office building. Via Capitanata 6-7 story residential buildings only Via Arezzo, btw V. Catania + V. Padova 5-6 story residential buildings with retail 1st level Viale delle Provincie, btw Pza d. Provincie + V. Reggio-Calabria

6-10 story residential w/ retail 1st level. Buildings get taller closer to Pza d. Provincie

Viale Ippocrate, btw Pza d. Provincie and V. Giuseppe Sisco

high-rise: 8-10 stories, mid-20th century, balconies, mixed use with commercial on ground floor

Via Giuseppe Sisco, btw V. Ippocrate and V. Pavia

6-10 stories, one 10 story building is mixed use, others are residential

Via Siena, btw V. Pavia and V. Giuseppe Sisco 3-4 stories, residential

Via Lucca 4-10 stories, residential, 1 ten story building mixed use with residence, dental office, small food store, and clothing store

Via Pavia, btw V. Cantania and V. Lucca market Via Pavia, btw V. Cantania and V. Lucca

1 story (market), 3-5 story, 6-9 story, residential, some mixed use

Via Domenico Morichini 1 story (market), 3-5 story, 9-10 story, some mixed use

  50  

Via Cuneo 3-5 story Via Cantania up to 10 stories Via Giuseppe De Mattheis 1 story (market), 7 story, 10-11 stories, mixed use Via Udine 3-4 stories, 5-6 stories, terraces Via Potenza mixed use, 5-6 stories Via Foggia 3-5 stories, residential, terraces  

  51  

Appendix 4: An Earlier Group Lynch Map This is a preliminary cognitive map of the group, created before the members knew the neighborhood very well. The

traditional Lynchian elements are missing – instead, the colors and imageability of the neighborhood are emphasized.

  52  

Appendix 5: Complete list of all ISTAT 2001 data about Italia, from the Cornell in Rome server

ISTAT 2001 Field Name Amount Population 3,868 Total Male Pop. 1,701 Total Female Pop. 2,167 Single Pop. 1,736 Married 1,538 Widow 391 Divorced 104 Single Male 798 Single Female 938 Less than 5 118 5–9 125 10–14 143 15–19 134 20–24 254 25–29 330 30–34 303 35–39 254 40–44 252 45–49 261 50–54 257 55–59 260 60–64 246 65–69 208 70–74 212 Older than 74 511 University Educated 918 High School Diploma 1,384

  53  

Below Average 667 Elementary 537 Literate 199 Illiterate 22 Work Force Age Pop. 1,718 Employed 1,560 Unemployed/Searching for Work 90 Male Workforce 872 Female Workforce 646 Male employed 794 Female employed 766 Total Agriculture 24 Industry: Energy Production 16 Industry: Manufacturing 107 Industry: Construction 58 Total Industry 181

ISTAT 2001 Field Name Amount Other Activity: Commercial, Restaurant 246 Other Activity: Transportation, Communication 99 Other Activity: Intermediazione 96 Other Activity: Professional, Entrepreneur 195 Other Activity: Government Employee, Defense 243 Other Activity: Teacher 193 Other Activity: Sanitation, Social Service 167 Other Activity: Community Service, NGO 116 Total Other Activity 1,355 Entrepreneurs and Professionals 196 Self Employed 168 Assistant 26 Employee 1,160

  54  

Outside the Labor Force 1,764 Domestic, Home Maker 417 Total student 398 Male student 173 Estimated College Student* 51 Female Student 255 Total Retired 726 Male Retired 352 Female Retired 374 Total Homes 2,802 Home: Owner Occupied 1,941 Home: Renter Occupied 435 Empty Dwellings 426 Dwellings: Other Types 0 Total Rooms 10,761 Rooms: Occupied 7,595 Rooms: Empty 3,166 Rooms: Owner Occupied 1,460 Rooms: Renter Occupied 319 Rooms: Residents in Other Capacity 162 Dwellings with 1 Room 26 Dwellings with 2 Rooms 188 Dwellings with 3 Rooms 502 Dwellings with 4 Rooms 685 Dwellings with 5 Rooms 368 Dwellings with 6 or More Rooms 172 Dwellings with Water 2,802 Total Area of Housing 220,592 Total Area of Occupied Homes 157,411

*Estimated College Student derived from subtracting children ages 5–19 from the Total Student field

  55  

ISTAT 2001 Field Name Amount Total Buildings and Building Complexes 114 Buildings Used 114 Residential Buildings 113 Commercial, Industrial, Communication, Transport Buildings 1 Building Constructed Before 1919 1 Building Constructed Between 1919 and 1945 108 Building Constructed Between 1946 and 1961 4 Building Constructed Between 1962 and 1971 0 Building Constructed Between 1972 and 1981 0 Building Constructed Between 1982 and 1991 0 Building Constructed After 1991 0 Building: 1 Story 2 Building: 2 Stories 4 Building: 3 Stories 2 Building: 4 Stories or More 105 Building: 1 Family 4 Building: 2 Families 0 Building: 3 to 10 Families 16 Building: More Than 10 Families 93 Total Families 1,956 Total Members of Families 3,865 Family: 1 Person 906 Family: 2 People 509 Family: 3 People 283 Family: 4 People 211 Family: 5 People 39 Family: 6 or More People 87 Total Immigrants Immigrant: Europe 132

  56  

Immigrant: Africa 38 Immigrant: Americas 13 Immigrant: Asia 32 Immigrant Oceania 49 Stateless Persons 0

  57  

Appendix 6: Interview Notes  Interviews in the Mercato Italia – March 4, 2010 General Information on Mercato Italia and surroundings from Professor Greg Smith -planned in 1930s, built in 1950s -maybe because of war; this area was bombed -used to be on Via Lucca (in the mornings only) -cemetery south of Piazza delle Provincie is filled up -tall buildings on Catania are probably late 30s/Fascist Artichoke Vendor -9 people on directive council of market -fish vendor is president -2 years ago they paid 20% of what they used to pay for rent; they manage their own maintenance costs -city built parking garage, privately managed -still a storage area below market -70 members of the market association -in connection with conference Esercenti: association of shop keepers handling the bid process for empty stalls -money they collect for stalls is for cleaning, security and some maintenance -they control 80% of the money, while the city takes 20% -Mercato Esquilino moved to covered area in 1995 (used to be in Piazza Vittorio) but lost its character

-no need for license for commercial activity prices for licenses plummet: has cost Pompei 100,000 euro because his license now has no value -Italians like markets: talking, social capital -his son works in the stall next door -rent on stalls is less than 2,000 euro/year -Bersani law: promotes liberalization of markets -he doesn’t live around here, but in Cento Celli near Quadraro

-most people who work in the market are from Lazio and live in Rome, but not in the neighborhood

-licenses are “traditional” -this area is becoming older and older -young couples cannot live here – 80 sq meters can

cost 500,000 Euros – impossibly expensive. They go to the outskirts of Rome instead

-A few years ago, there was a decline in liveliness, but 1 year ago the market decided to self-manage

-Traditional license passed down mostly through family

-Customers split between neighborhood and people from outside area. Tiburtina brings people from outside Rome who work in the area

-community is getting older due to high property values- decline until self management bring in people to make market look full/attract more people Fish Vendor, President of Market -market has a good reputation -people in neighborhood walk to the market -people who work at the nearby Policlinico hospital shop at the market

  58  

-his grandfather was in the Via Lucca market -his father moved to Via Catania when it opened in 1950 -young people don’t shop here: they “don’t understand” the value of a market (according to an older woman buying fish from his stand)

-“Of course I don’t live here” (in Italia) -received his stand from his father -his customers are from the neighborhood (since fish

doesn’t travel well) -has noticed a decline here, mostly with prices –

“people don’t buy anything anymore” -In Rome, new markets have opened – but they are

more like supermarkets, and will decline for sure-new market in deep crisis since they are built in supermarket model, but people would rather go to actual supermarket-they go to the markets for the traditional feel

-got his job from his father, who got it from his grandfather – you become an expert in your food area – you can’t find that in a supermarket

-Before the 1960s no water ran to the individual stalls of the market – there was a fountain in the middle of the market with mosaics – but they destroyed it instead of restoring it

-Lives in Rome but not near the neighborhood -Got his license from his father and that was from his

grandfather customers mostly from the neighborhood- fish doesnt transport well Young Man – works in bread/pastry stand

-only been working here for 1 year -from Naples originally

-has his license because the person here before him had it

-customers – partly from the neighborhood, partly not -hard to work in the summer – Rome is empty in

August Garlic Seller

-Bangladeshi -only works here in the market 1-2 hours a day, is a

housekeeper for people in the neighborhood more often, can make better money doing that

-buys garlic from Mercato Esquilino/Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele II market

-lives close to here Woman at Cheese Store

-from Rome, lives close but not in the neighborhood -got the stand from her father, who got it from his

father -she has worked here since she was 14 or 15 years old -her customers are old people -it was a good improvement to take control of the

market through co-op – the municipality was not doing maintenance on the building – it is better to be able to do it themselves

-wonders if there are markets like this in the US

Woman selling toiletries and cleaning supplies

-clients are old women, from the neighborhood -from Rome, she works for the man who runs the stall

(she is not the owner) – owner got the license from his father

  59  

Woman working at pet supply store -studied in California for a month because she was a

nurse -does not live in the neighborhood – lives in Testaccio -has worked here for 10 years, bought the license

from a friend of hers -customers are old people from the neighborhood who

she assumes are affluent -there was a strong economic decline a few years ago,

but she thinks things are better now that they are self-managed Workers at the Time Bank (Banca del Tempo) -has been there for 4-5 years -there are 600 account holders -multi-ethnic: 1 of only 2 in the city -funded by S.O.S.: civic enabler -city only gives a minimal amount of support: the space and the office telephone -popular with young people, especially for language help -most clients don’t live here, but work in the neighborhood -the most important form of advertising for them is word of mouth -the foreigners don’t live in this neighborhood -lots of South Americans, Mexicans and Ukrainians -the man at the time bank lives among many Bangladeshis in Tor Pignatura (good Asian restaurants) -neighborhood is desirable because it’s easily accessible and there are high property values

Porter at Via Pontedena, 5 -cooperative for railroad workers, now private residents -used to include all surrounding buildings -20 families now live in the condominiums -the road still belongs to the ex-railroad cooperative, which rents out parking spaces to other residents on the street -many apartments are now rented out to students from the University Interviews in the Park – March 1, 2010 Elderly Woman in small park watching her grandchildren

-has lived here her whole life -the neighborhood has declined and changed over

time -there were nice stores before – cheaper stuff has

opened -too many pizzarias and banks now -an area of students – a new population

-live close to Viale Ippocrate and San Lorenzo, some rent apartments

-waitresses are immigrants -this was a high-income neighborhood – second

richest in Rome -Italia is the old name for the neighborhood, its now

referred to as “Piazza Bologna” -The buildings were built around private streets

instead of coutyards – built around the 1920’s or 1930’s -the park is well-maintained, but not as beautiful as

before

  60  

-she likes the market a lot, but it was better before the supermarkets – better quality

-she considers the neighborhood to stretch from Villa Torlonia to the cemetery to the southeast, to the border with San Lorenzo

-Villa Torlonia was the house of the Prince of Savoy, then the house of Mussolini -It was decaying, then they decided to make it a museum Woman in park watching grandchildren Man and Woman in Villa Torlonia

-part-time workers in the park – working on restorations

-used by many families, especially in summer, and also for jogging, sports, etc

-restoration of the Casmo Nobilita (sp?) started in the early 2000’s, another started in the early 1990’s

-opened the technology museum in the park for kids 7-14 years old, and it was very unusual for Rome Woman with stroller in Villa Torlonia

-Lives in Porta Pia, but works in Piazza Bologna (used new name of the neighborhood) -Has lived in Porta Pia 5 years, but has worked here in Piazza Bologna for 15 years – she wanted to move closer to work -Piazza Bologna is better organized

-students in the area mostly -in the last 10 years, lots of small shops have been

closed, and more shops managed by Arabs and North Africans have been opened, such as fruit shops and grocery stores

-some Chinese immigrants – but immigrants don’t live here because the rent is too high

-students are still willing to pay the rent because they are close to the university

-the street maintenance is very good, and police control in the area is good

-problem here = dog poop – there’s no clean up for it Interviews with young people – March 15, 2010 Young man on Via Catania – student

-18 years old -studying engineering at the university -lives with his parents, who own their apartment -he hangs out in the university cafes or library – these

are most frequented by students -doesn’t shop in the neighborhood -style/quality of life in the area has been the same his

whole life -there have been many projects to rehabilitate the

streets, its much better now -he says there aren’t many private streets -lots of young people (south of Catania) since they are

close to the university -his favorite thing to do is play soccer on the private

fields to the south of the neighborhood Young man with dog on Via Udine

-has lived here for 6 years -moved to be closer to his parents, who live in the

neighborhood

  61  

-calls the area Quartiere Italia – all the streets have city names

-likes that it is quiet here – there are 2 nice green areas, tennis courts, Villa Torlonia, and not a lot of traffic

-doesn’t go to the market too much – he drives his car to the supermarket at Piazza Bologna because its more convenient for him, and everything he needs to get is all in one place

-Boundaries: He sees Italia in two parts, separated by Via Catania (like our groups subdivisions) Student on Viale Ippocrate

-doesn’t live in the area – takes Tram 19 from Prenestrina

-sees it as a young area -doesn’t go as far north as Via Catania very often -goes to San Lorenzo at night, its good and has a lot

of pubs -studying Biology